Spring-hinge.



PatentedAug. 29, I899..

P. R. KRAUSE.

SPRING HINGE.

(Application filed May 8, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATE PATENT rFIcE.

PHILIP R. KRAUSE, OF DENNY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPRING names.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 631,797, dated August 29, 1899.

Application filed May 3, 1899. Serial No. 715,4?23. (No model.)

To (all whom it puny concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILIP R. KRAUSE, a citizen of the United States,residin g at Denny, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Springl-Iinge,of which the followingis a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in spring-hinges.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of spring-hinges and to provide a simple, inexpensive and efficient hinge designed for screen-doors and adapted to permit a door to be readily removed and replaced without the use of a screw-driver and without removing the leaves from the door and the door frame or casing, whereby the durability of such parts is greatly increased.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hinge of this character which may be readily adjusted to vary the tension of the spring to adapt the same to the character of the door to which it is applied, so that the same will not close with a hard knock, but at the same time will close sufficiently tight to hold it in such position.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a spring-hinge constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view ofthe pintle.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l and 2 designate the leaves of a springhinge, provided at their upper and lower ends with ears 3 and 4c, perforated for the reception of a pintle 5, which is removable to enablethe leaves of a hinge to be separated,

so that a screen-door may be taken down without removing the screws, whereby the durability of the door is greatly increased, as new screw-holes do not have to be provided each time the door is hung and the wood is not subjected to the decay which results from removing the leaf of the hinge from it. The

pintle, which has a coiled spring 5 disposed on it, has its lower end 6 bifurcated or slotted to receive the lower end of the spring, and the upper end 7 of the spring bears'against the leaf 2 of the hinge. The slot or bifurcation extends inward from the lower end of the pintle, and in assembling the parts it is readily placed over the lower end 8 of the spring.

The upper end 9 of the pintle is of polygonal shape, being preferably triangular in cross-section to receive the ratchet-wheel 10, which is provided with a corresponding opening 11; but instead of making the opening and the upper end of the spring triangular any other non-circular shape may be employed to hold the ratchet-wheel fast on the pintle; The ratchet-wheel 10 is preferably provided with recesses 12 to form stout teeth, and it is engaged by a pawl 13, mounted on the upper ear 3 of the leaf 1. The pintle is supported in the perforated ears of the leaves by the lower end 8 of the spring, which bears upon the upper one of the lower pair of perforated ears. The ratchet-wheel is supported by the shoulders formed bythe reduction of the upper end of the pintle, and the upper eye 3,

which is perforated for the reception of the pivot or rivet 14 of the pawl 13, is enlarged, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

The pintle may be rotated by any suitable tool, such as a wrench, to tighten the spring, so that a door will close with the desired force, and the spring may be adjusted to suit a door to prevent the same from closing with a hard knock, so that such door will not be injured by closing against the door frame or casing.

The invention has the following advantages: The spring-hinge, which is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, has a removable pintle and may be readily taken apart to'enable a door to be readily taken down and put. up without the use of a screwdriver and without providing new screw-holes each time the door is hung. This prevents the door from decaying to the extent it would were the screws removed each time it is taken down, and as the spring may be. readily adjusted to vary its tension the door will not be injured by being subjected to hard knocks in closing. The pintle is sup ported in the perforated ears of the leaves by the engagement of the lower end of the spring with the slot or bifurcation, and when the pawl is swung out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel to release the spring the pintle may be quickly removed and replaced.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, such as varying the form of the interlocking connection between the ratchet-wheel and the pintle.

What is claimed is A spring-hinge comprising two leaves provided with overlapping horizontal eyes, a vertical pintle passing through the eyes and provided at its upper end with a non-circular portion and having its lower end slotted, a coiled spring disposed on the pintle and having its lower end arranged within the slot of the pintle and resting upon one of the lower eyes whereby it is adapted to support the saidpintle, a ratchet-wheel arranged on the upper end of the pintle, and a pawl pivoted to one of the upper eyes and engaging the ratchetwheel, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as I 

